New England has dressed herself up in all her splendor, ready to go to the Fall Ball. The colors of the leaves are gorgeous, the air is crisp and clean and the warmth of Indian summer lingers.

September’s Story Café at ArtWorks was blessed with the brilliant talent of Simon Brooks. The audience was enchanted not only by his charm but by his array of terrific tales. On October 17 we will be treated to a night of Italian stories, Bella Notte, by the always fabulous and funny Carolyn Martino from Rhode Island. I hope you can join us. For further information visit: http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2009/08/story-cafe-charging-ahead.html

I will be attending the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN this month and I am looking forward to seeing many old friends. October also brings a chance to share Halloween stories, and tales at the 100th anniversary celebration of a local Grange organization.

October 17 will also be the premier of the 1st Granite State Storytelling Festival in New London, New Hampshire. I am fortunate to be one of the storytellers to take part in this grand event. There will be 24 amazing storytellers throughout the day with a featured evening performance by Odds Bodkin. It will be a day to remember! I hope you can join us.

Sadly, in September the voice of one of our most talented and generous storytellers, and a dear friend of mine, Patrick Mendoza of Colorado was momentarily silenced. Pat suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while on tour in TN. A Vietnam Veteran, he has been a guiding force and advocate in collecting the stories that honor our soldiers, both past and present.

I have placed a link to one of his touching, true tales in the Stories section of this newsletter as a tribute to Veteran’s Day. A fund will be set up to help defray the cost of his extensive rehabilitation. I will share that information in the next newsletter.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to email me at storybug@aol.com. Until November, I wish you a beautiful fall, filled with the scents, sounds and shades of this beautiful season.

“Stories are how we learn. The progenitors of the world’s religions understood this, handing down our great myths and legends from generation to generation.”

Bill Mooney and David Holt, The Storyteller’s Guide

STORIES

Edgar Allan Poe - October 11 is the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe. This site offers his short stories, poems, quotes, biography and additional links. http://www.poestories.com/

World Folklore Online - An index of stories listed by culture, country, book title and story page number. It will make story research a breeze! http://tinyurl.com/3se6sy

Folk Tales Every Child Should Know -Twenty tales that have survived the centuries; some well-known, others will be a treat to your storytelling senses.. “The stories made by the people, and told before evening fires, or in public places and at the gates of inns in the Orient, belong to the ages when books were few and knowledge limited, or to people whose fancy was not hampered by familiarity with or care for facts…” http://tinyurl.com/ntq22d

November 11 is Veteran’s Day here in the United States. Here are some stories to honor those who protect and serve.

November also brings my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving. Here are some sites to help you enjoy the day.

Native Languages of the Americas: Wampanoag Indian Legends - Meet Moshup the Giant, read about Squant the Sea Monster and more. There are also additional links and resources to help you learn more about this Indian nation. http://tinyurl.com/l5tx8x

The Circle of Life and the Clambake - A lovely story from the Wampanoag culture that encompasses the spirit of thanksgiving, the circle of life and caring for the earth. http://tinyurl.com/kpdyaq

Autumn Activities and Lesson Plans -While your students enjoy the glorious colors of fall guide them through the scientific “reason for the season” with this free downloadable pdf file. From Teacher Vision for grades K-6. http://tinyurl.com/y95w4sh

Halloween Games for the Classroom - “A collection of fun and educational Halloween games that build math and language skills for grades K-5. With Halloween-themed versions of games like tag, musical chairs, and “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” you’ll teach your student’s math and language skills while still enjoying the holiday. Your students will think they’re playing but will be learning at the same time!” * Requires subscription to access full information. http://tinyurl.com/ya4hn36

All ‘Bout Cranberries - A comprehensive cranberry curriculum for grades K-8 covering many aspects of cranberry growing and takes the user on a journey from the Cranberry Bog to the Kitchen Table. It is designed to give students an appreciation of Massachusetts number one food crop through problem solving and thought provoking activities. www.cranberries.org/cranberries/teachers.html

American Indian Leather Painting - For grades 5-6, students will create stories that resemble old Indian leather paintings. Students will tell a story using only pictures and drawing them in sequence so others can read the story back. http://tinyurl.com/6q8jjt

The Pilgrims Voyage: A Map and the Mayflower - This project teaches geography and history. The student makes a map of the voyage and a tiny replica of the Mayflower. http://tinyurl.com/mauanx

The Children of the Morning Light: Wampanoag Tales as Told By Manitonquat -A storyteller of the southeastern Massachusetts Wampanoag has retold some of the creation tales of his people -- teaching and ‘pourquoi’ tales that are remarkable for their humor, common sense, and humanity. http://tinyurl.com/ko3637

October 21, 2009 Des Moines, Iowa
Do Tell That Story Any Way It Works Maureen Korte, Patricia Coffie, and Duffy deFrance will present the versatility of story along with tried and true techniques for use with folk tales, personal stories, and props. Cost $45 includes lunch. Contact: maemaude@webiowaplus.net for details.

October 30, 2009 - November 1, 2009 - Adirondacks, New York
An opportunity to work on your work with Regi Carpenter, Karen Glass and other storytellers in a cozy cabin to work on whatever your heart and career desires. $50.00 fee includes all food and lodging. For more information contact Regi at soaringstories@gmail.com

January 29 - February 1, 2010 Brattleboro, Vermont
Springboards for Stories with Jackson Gillman in the inspiring setting of Rudyard Kipling’s historic home. The goal is to help individuals develop stories by doing some exploratory mining of personal experiences, and consider ways to refine, polish and share those nuggets. Each session is open to 5-7 people. Email jxsong@comcast.net with any questions, or for more details go to: www.jacksongillman.com/workshops.html

SOMETHING EXTRA

October is Health Literacy Month
A time of raising awareness about health literacy and ways to improve understanding. In the past Health Literacy Month centered on awareness-raising events hosted by organizations and community collaborations across the U.S. and around the world. This year, Health Literacy Consulting decided to take a different approach and focus on stories of why health literacy matters to health-care providers, policy makers, patients, families, and others who care about understanding health.

Throughout October, podcasts, songs, story posts, and photo galleries celebrating the theme Finding the Right Words for Better Health will be shared on the Health Literacy Month website at http://www.healthliteracymonth.org/

Untiny.me

You may notice that many of the URL’s in my newsletter begin with http://tinyurl.com. This service turns very long web addresses into shorter ones. Untiny.me retrieves the original so you will be able to access it if it is blocked by your server. http://untiny.me/

About Catch the Storybug Newsletter

This monthly or bi-monthly newsletter is researched and written by Karen Chace, Professional Storyteller, Author, Web Researcher, Workshop Leader, Storytelling Teacher and Story Coach.